Assessment of Response Bias in Mild Head Injury: Beyond Malingering Tests

Abstract

The evaluation of response bias and malingering in the cases of mild head injury should not rely on a single test. Initial injury severity, typical neuropsychological test performance patterns, preexisting emotional stress or chronic social difficulties, history of previous neurological or psychiatric disorder, other system injuries sustained in the accident, preinjury alcohol abuse, and a propensity to attribute benign cognitive and somatic symptoms to a brain injury must be considered along with performances on specific measures of response bias. This article reviews empirically-supported tests and indices. Use of the likelihood ratio and other statistical indicators of diagnostic efficiency are demonstrated. Bayesian model averaging as a statistical technique to derive optimal prediction models is performed with a clinical data set.